From Formula to Milk

We got our family (and Delano's 1 year) photos done Saturday!  I've already received the link to all of them (all 276 of them) via email....now I need to pick out my top 15 for editing.  I've narrowed it down to 36 so far.  Of course, ALL of them are mine to keep (our photographer is awesome that way), but the package we chose includes 15 professional edits.  As soon as I make the final decision, they'll be posted to Facebook, and I'll post them in a blog as well!  P.S. Our photographer is VERY affordable.  So if you're looking to get some photos done, don't want the standard posey shots you would get from a place like Sears by someone clicking a button on a stage, don't want to have to settle on just one or two shots (but instead get ALL of them on a CD to do what you please with them) but also don't want to spend a zillion dollars on professional photography.....contact Heidi Burks.  She has packages ranging from 15 minutes (which I like just fine but others don't because they feel too rushed) to as long as you want them to go.  Here is the link to the Heidi Burks Photography Facebook page, and here is the link to the Heidi Burks Photography website.  And here are just a few of the pictures she's taken for us (these were all from 15-minute photo sessions):

I've been working on switching Delano from formula to whole organic cow's milk, because I just really want him off of and away from formula.  As much as I've read about how cow's milk is just NOT the best thing for humans to be drinking in general (and I really thoroughly despise the practices of factory farming), I also despise that I'm giving my child a powder mixture containing a mile-long list of lactose, glucose, oils and other ingredients, REGARDLESS of the fact that it's certified organic.  Again, I'm not bashing any formula-feeding moms out there.....this is just my own personal choice and feelings about the whole thing.  You have to remember that MY plan was to go straight from breastfeeding to not breastfeeding.  I wasn't even sure that I wanted to go from breastmilk to cow's milk.  I did not anticipate having to formula-feed at all.  But Delano (along with the current formula vs milk recommendations) had different ideas!

Of course, my mom said that when I weaned myself from breastfeeding prior to being a year old, she immediately switched me to 2% milk without any problems.  She also fed me peanut butter and other currently known "no-no" foods way before I was a year old, and I'm now 34 and have no issues at all with dairy or nuts or anything else.  Nowadays doctors highly recommend against offering milk and other foods prior to being a year old because of what they've learned about the development of a baby's digestive system.

ANYWAY, I tried switching Delano cold turkey.  Instead of offering him his regular morning bottle of formula, I offered him a bottle of milk.  That went over about as well as a turd in a punch bowl.  I don't think that it was because he didn't like the milk.....I think it was because his bottle went from warm to cold.

P.S.  I'm not going to warm his milk.

So instead of cold turkey, I started mixing milk in with his bottles.  I started with 2 ounces of milk (along with 6 ounces of formula) in his morning bottle, and 1 ounce of milk (along with 2 ounces of formula) in his evening bottle.  After about three or four days, I upped each bottle an ounce of milk and reduced the formula by an ounce.  One day last week I also offered him milk in a cup throughout the day, so that he would get used to drinking straight (cold) milk.

Well......that day backfired.  Too much milk, I think.  He was up almost ALL night with some major gas pains.  Poor little guy was so sleepy but couldn't sleep because his tummy hurt.

That following morning (last Thursday, I think?) I gave him straight formula to help settle his stomach.  I also gave him some infant Gas Relief (which I had also given him during the night).  By the time he woke from his morning nap (which he slept all the way through), he was happy and back to normal and all the gas was gone.

So.....the past two days we were at the point of doing a half-and-half bottle in the mornings (4 ounces of milk, 4 ounces of formula) and either straight formula (3 ounces) or no bottle at all at night.  Well this morning Delano threw up his ENTIRE bottle in three nice, big waves of vomit.  Since an intolerance to lactose is highly unlikely, it seems that an 8 ounce bottle is just too much milk at once first thing in the morning.  Plus since formula (when mixed) is mostly water, I'm sure that going from a "water" drink to whole milk is quite a heavy switch.  So starting tomorrow, his morning bottle will be a 50/50 4 ounce bottle.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to wean off the bedtime bottle 100% FIRST before going to straight milk in the mornings, or if I'm going to keep transitioning to 100% milk in the mornings FIRST and then wean off the bedtime bottle.  I DO know that I need to purchase a separate sippy cup so that once he's almost completely on milk, he won't be on a bottle anymore.  He'll be on a sippy cup he can drink from during breakfast and then throughout the day.  I don't want to put milk in his lollacup because I want that cup to be associated with water and nothing else.  I also do plan on offering soy milk as well as trying other options for variety (or maybe he'll simply like it better), as well as yogurt, which is high in calcium.  And yes, I'm hoping to get him to love leafy greens, too! 

And I plan to keep him off juice for as long as possible, or save it for special occasions.

I'm not trying to make my kid super-granola, though I do admire the parents who go above and beyond to be eco- and animal-friendly as well as just healthier in general.  I'M not super-granola, and Lucas is definitely far from it.  But while my child is young, I do have control over what goes into his body during this young, developmental stage, and I do have influence over what he's introduced to, what he likes and what he gets used to eating.  So I'm taking advantage of that time while I have it!  And he doesn't get all homemade or organic food.  He used to....but ever since he started eating finger foods, he'll often eat what we're eating, whether it's at home or out in a restaurant.  And I'm now only making about half of his pureed food at home.  I also buy jars of baby food for some extra variety.  I do still buy organic when I can, but let's face it, restaurants (and ice cream shops) don't typically fall into that category!

 

Of course now I'm looking up tasty recipes for homemade baby finger foods!  :)